Carrie - Your House Might Be Keeping You Stuck (Here’s Why)

Part 2...In this 5-part series of Project You 2.2, we explore why so many people feel stuck, overwhelmed, and inconsistent—even when they’re trying their hardest to change.

Through real-life stories, mindset shifts, and simple behavior changes, Carrie Helmer breaks down the hidden patterns behind burnout, self-sabotage, and starting over again and again.

You’ll learn how your environment, habits, identity, and calendar are all quietly shaping your life—and what to do instead.

This isn’t about doing more.

It’s about seeing differently.

And once you see it… you can’t unsee it.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Hi friends, welcome back to Project U 2.2. I'm Carrie Helmer, a life coach, former teacher of 31 years, mom of three boys, and someone who has spent the last few years just really figuring out what it means to stop just showing up for life and actually live in it again, to feel more present, to feel more joy, and to feel like me again. This podcast is where we have real conversations about growth, identity, confidence, and what it actually takes to create this life that feels good on the inside and not just one that looks good on the outside. This week I'm doing something a little bit different. I'm releasing an episode Monday through Friday for a five-part series of Project U 2.2. In this podcast, we are going to explore why so many people feel stuck, overwhelmed, and inconsistent, even when they are trying so hard to make some change. In the last episode, we talked about how to stop trying to be a perfect 10 and why you keep burning out because you get stuck in this all or nothing cycle that just keeps you starting over and over again. Today we're going to talk about something that most people don't connect, but once you see it, you won't be able to unsee it. We're going to talk about your environment, your home, your space, and how it might be keeping you overwhelmed, stuck, and mentally just exhausted. Have you ever walked into your house or a room in your house and immediately felt stressed? This could be one of your children's bedrooms, or for me, it's my storage room the most often, or even my pantry, or another good one is my closet. Nothing even happens yet, but your brain, when you walk in, is just like, ugh, because you see a pile, you notice a drawer that is jammed filled with just stuff and junk, or a corner that you're avoiding. Clutter isn't just physical, it is mental noise. It is every unfinished space, every unfinished project, every pile, every I'll get to that later. And your brain is tracking all of it. This is something that I work through with clients. One of my clients came to me feeling overwhelmed, and this wasn't because she didn't care about her house, but it was because she just had too much on her plate for too long, and it started showing up in her space. So we didn't start by saying, let's fix your whole house, because that's where people will shut down. It's again going back to that trying to operate at a six or a seven instead of going all in at a ten. So we started by saying, let's just start with one drawer and that's it. And you know what happens when you clear one drawer? You can feel it. You feel lighter, you feel a little bit more in control, less overwhelmed, and it sounds silly because it's so small, but it feels good. It feels good to do something, to clean it, to organize it, to see what you have and to go through it. And when you feel lighter, you feel more in control, you feel less overwhelmed, the energy spills into the next decision. And so then every space you clear creates space in you in your life. So today I don't want you to go clean your whole house. Pick one thing, pick one drawer, one counter, one corner, and finish it. Let your brain experience the knowing the satisfaction that you follow through. And if your life feels like too much right now, maybe your space, your house, your schedule, your mind, this is the work I do with people. We simplify, we create space, and then we rebuild from there. Because it isn't about just turning everything upside down. You need a place to start, and then we meet there and go from there. Join me every day this week if you've been feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or like you just keep starting over. This series is going to feel uncomfortably familiar in the best way, I hope, because awareness is where everything begins to change. In the next episode, we're going to talk about how you don't need more motivation and why behavior change fails if you don't shift who you think you are, that identity. I will see you in the next episode. Have a great day.